The RTÉ Short Story Competition 2020 has now closed for entries and the judging process has begun. We will announce the shortlist by early autumn. Best of luck to everyone who entered and watch this space!

RTÉ Short Story Competition 2020

RTÉ SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2020

The Competition has now closed for entries.

This year's competition will be judged by a panel of three: editor, lecturer and journalist, Madeleine Keane; award-winning short story writer and previous prize-winner of the RTÉ Short Story Competition, Danielle McLaughlin; and writer and broadcaster, Vincent Woods.

The shortlist of 10 stories will be announced by early September, while the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in RTÉ later in September if circumstances permit, due to the Coronavirus.

The overall winner will receive €3,000, while €2,000 and €1,000 will be awarded to the second and third place prize winners respectively. A further seven runners-up will receive €250 each, and all 10 short stories will be broadcast in a season of new writing on RTÉ Radio 1 in the autumn. The top three prizewinning stories will also be published on thejournal.ie.

Previous prize-winner and judge for 2020, Danielle McLaughlin, says: "I'll never get tired of the thrill of hearing somebody read one of my stories on the radio. A story told over the radio carries a particular intimacy, a sense that the telling of the story is a private thing between narrator and the individual listener. For the writer of the story, of course, there's the wonder of realising that the story you wrote at the kitchen table, or in a café, is being heard by thousands. I still remember the joy of getting the phone call telling me I'd been shortlisted for the competition! So for anybody who has a story they'd like to get out into the world: get your entry in. You've got nothing to lose and wonderful things might happen."

The RTÉ Short Story Competition has been championing new talent for decades with the winning and shortlisted short stories being produced for radio broadcast and voiced by some of Ireland’s most talented actors of the stage and screen. In recent years these have included Peter Hanly, Ali White, Emmet Kirwan, Cathy Belton, Ingrid Craigie, Denis Conway, Andrew Bennett, Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, Kathy-Rose O'Brien, and many more.

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About the Competition

The RTÉ Short Story Competition has been a critically important launch pad for new and emerging writers since its inception in 1986, with a wide ranging appeal including young aspiring authors in Ireland.

A competition for original short stories for radio was first established in 1986 in honour of the RTÉ Radio Head of Features and acclaimed novelist, Francis MacManus (1909-1965). Since then, it has been a source of encouragement, support and recognition for new, emerging writers as well as established names. Past winners have gone on to receive national and international acclaim, including Claire Keegan, Molly McCloskey, Ivy Bannister, Anthony Glavin and Nuala O’Connor, and many more.

The RTÉ Short Story Competition has been championing new talent for decades with the winning and shortlisted short stories being produced for radio broadcast and voiced by some of Ireland's most talented actors of the stage and screen. In recent years these have included Peter Hanly, Ali White, Emmet Kirwan, Cathy Belton, Ingrid Craigie, Denis Conway, Andrew Bennett, Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, Kathy-Rose O'Brien, and many more.

This year, the full shortlist of 10 stories will be broadcast in the autumn, and will be available for download as podcasts. All three prizewinning stories will also be available to read on thejournal.ie

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.